Additive and non-additive epigenetic signatures of natural hybridization between fish species with different mating systems

Hybridization is a major source of evolutionary innovation. In plants, epigenetic mechanisms can help to stabilize hybrid genomes and contribute to reproductive isolation, but the relationship between genetic and epigenetic changes in animal hybrids is unclear. We analysed the relationship between g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Epigenetics 2022-12, Vol.17 (13), p.2356-2365
Main Authors: Berbel-Filho, Waldir M., Pacheco, George, Lira, Mateus G., Garcia de Leaniz, Carlos, Lima, Sergio M. Q., Rodríguez-López, Carlos M., Zhou, Jia, Consuegra, Sofia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cytosine
DNA Methylation
Epigenesis, Genetic
epigenetic diversity
Epigenomics
Hybridization, Genetic
mangrove killifish
outcrossing
Research Paper
self-fertilization
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Summary:Hybridization is a major source of evolutionary innovation. In plants, epigenetic mechanisms can help to stabilize hybrid genomes and contribute to reproductive isolation, but the relationship between genetic and epigenetic changes in animal hybrids is unclear. We analysed the relationship between genetic background and methylation patterns in natural hybrids of two genetically divergent fish species with different mating systems, Kryptolebias hermaphroditus (self-fertilizing) and K. ocellatus (outcrossing). Co-existing parental species displayed highly distinct genetic (SNPs) and methylation patterns (37,000 differentially methylated cytosines). Hybrids had predominantly intermediate methylation patterns (88.5% of the sites) suggesting additive effects, as expected from hybridization between genetically distant species. The large number of differentially methylated cytosines between hybrids and parental species (n = 5,800) suggests that hybridization may play a role in increasing genetic and epigenetic variation. Although most of the observed epigenetic variation was additive and had a strong genetic component, we also found a small percentage of non-additive, potentially stochastic, methylation differences that might act as an evolutionary bet-hedging strategy and increase fitness under environmental instability.
ISSN:1559-2294
1559-2308
DOI:10.1080/15592294.2022.2123014